Functions of a public nature should be defined on a case by case basis. Lee Parkhill and Charmaine Murray explain
In YL v Birmingham City Council and others [2007] UKHL 27, [2007] 3 All ER 957 their lordships considered the scope of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998), s 6(3)(b), which allows for bodies other than core public authorities to be subject to the obligation, contained in s 6(1), which requires them to act compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention).
An otherwise private body may be regarded as a public authority for the purposes of HRA 1998 if, per s 6(3)(b), it performs “functions of a public nature”. Such a body is commonly referred to as a hybrid public authority. The obligation on such hybrid bodies to observe Convention rights attaches only to functions which are of a public nature. Therefore, determining the scope of s 6(3)(b) is necessary not only to identify which bodies are subject to the obligation in s 6(1), but also to determine
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